南运河重金属污染状况及生态风险评价

采集南运河的水样和沉积物样品,对其重金属污染状况和生态风险进行了分析评价。利用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(ICP-MS)对水、沉积物中铅(Pb)、铬(Cr)、砷(As)、铜(Cu)和镉(Cd)浓度进行分析。结果显示南运河水样中这5种重金属浓度均低于地表水环境质量标准I类水质标准,虽然运河上游沉积物中As和Cd浓度较高,但沉积物中重金属浓度总体上均处于较低水平。地累积指数法计算显示:As和Cd在部分河段达到重度和中度污染水平,Cu、Cr、Pb均处于无污染水平。各种重金属的潜在生态风险指数(Eir)从大到小的顺序为:CdAsCuPbCr,与地累积指数法结果相似。南运河总的潜在生态风险指数(RI)均值为128.85,潜在生态风险程度为"中",沉积物中Cd和As是南运河需要优先控制的重金属污染物。     

Characterization of Storm Flow Dynamics of Headwater Streams in the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain1

Epps, Thomas H., Daniel R. Hitchcock, Anand D. Jayakaran, Drake R. Loflin, Thomas M. Williams, and Devendra M. Amatya, 2012. Characterization of Storm Flow Dynamics of Headwater Streams in the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐14. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12000 Abstract: Hydrologic monitoring was conducted in two first‐order lower coastal plain watersheds in South Carolina, United States, a region with increasing growth and land use change. Storm events over a three‐year period were analyzed for direct runoff coefficients (ROC) and the total storm response (TSR) as percent rainfall. ROC calculations utilized an empirical hydrograph separation method that partitioned total streamflow into sustained base flow and direct runoff components. ROC ratios ranged from 0 to 0.32 on the Upper Debidue Creek (UDC) watershed and 0 to 0.57 on Watershed 80 (WS80); TSR results ranged from 0 to 0.93 at UDC and 0.01 to 0.74 at WS80. Variability in event runoff generation was attributed to seasonal trends in water table elevation fluctuation as regulated by evapotranspiration. Groundwater elevation breakpoints for each watershed were identified based on antecedent water table elevation, streamflow, ROCs, and TSRs. These thresholds represent the groundwater elevation above which event runoff generation increased sharply in response to rainfall. For effective coastal land use decision making, baseline watershed hydrology must be understood to serve as a benchmark for management goals, based on both seasonal and event‐based surface and groundwater interactions.     

What are the barriers to successful community-based climate change adaptation? A review of grey literature

ABSTRACT

Across the Global South, community-based adaptation (CBA) projects are increasingly being implemented in an effort to respond effectively and sustainably to the impacts of climate change, with a particular focus on people’s livelihoods. Despite an increase in the number of CBA projects being implemented, detailed analysis and evaluation of their efficacy and the barriers faced in achieving successful outcomes is lacking. This study draws on an analysis of grey literature (i.e. project and donor reports) to explore the barriers faced in achieving effective CBA. An extensive global search of online project evaluations yielded 25 documents comprising 69 projects from which this analysis is based. This paper first presents an overview of the 69 projects and highlights any trends. Second, this paper describes the barriers to CBA according to three broad themes: socio-political, resource, and physical systems and processes. Following this is a discussion of the most prevalent barriers: cognitive and behavioural, financial, and human resources. Third, this paper discusses the key findings elucidated from this review. This includes the need for greater sharing of project reports and findings so lessons can be learned across spatial and temporal scales, and the disparity between critical academic literature on CBA and what is implemented in practice.     

Municipal solid waste management in South Africa: from waste to energy recovery through waste-to-energy technologies in Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

“Waste-to-energy” (WTE) technologies have been presented as one of the avenues to improve the management of solid waste whilst promoting clean and healthy urban environments through the recovery of waste and generation of energy. Research suggests that with the right investment in technologies and institutional changes, waste can potentially become a resource that can contribute to the socio-economic development of cities. It is in this context that this paper presents a review of the literature on WTE technologies and their implications on sustainable waste management in urban areas. The paper particularly contributes to our understanding of WTE technologies and its potential on Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is estimated that the city of Johannesburg’s landfills airspace will be completely depleted by year 2023. This projection becomes a motivation for the identification of suitable WTE alternative avenues to manage waste in the city. The paper argues that WTE technologies can contribute significantly to sustainable waste management, economic growth, ecological and environmental well-being.     

Shaped by race: why “race” still matters in the challenges facing biodiversity conservation in Africa

This article uses experiences from South Africa to argue that, despite progress made in making biodiversity conservation compatible with social, political and economic changes, progress could still be limited by reluctance of social actors to acknowledge and engage with the issue of race. The article argues that acknowledging the history of conservation in Africa, including close ties to racially charged colonialism, could be a positive impetus in the transformation of conservation to make it more socially, economically and politically justifiable.     

A Regional Cadmium Inventory: Interpretation and management

Local authorities in Sweden are responsible for the management of sewage treatment and municipal solid waste. Due to this, they handle large flows and stocks of materials and substances that may be harmful for the environment. However, knowledge about these flows is sometimes deficient. In addition, the capacity to influence the composition of these flows is mainly beyond the jurisdiction of the local authorities. Flow-oriented studies, such as substance flow analysis (SFA), have proven to be a useful tool in order to understand and quantify these flows. Furthermore, SFA is sometimes claimed to be beneficial to the process of decision making, since it generates comprehensive overviews of the substance in focus. However, quantification of stocks and flows of a certain substance does not necessarily provide sufficient information for environmental management on the local level. Hence, for SFA to further contribute to the environmental management process, there is also a need for development in the interpretation of the results. The main objective of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about (1) how to interpret the results from SFA and (2) how the results from an SFA can be used in environmental management by local authorities. A tentative framework for interpretation is discussed in the paper, focusing on five aspects: total material quantities, exposure to humans and the environment, resource economy, function and capacity to influence the substance flows. Furthermore, the paper discusses the suggested framework applied to results of a regional cadmium inventory.     

澳大利亚地方政府开展环保教育的做法及特点

以获得2004年澳大利亚国家奖励的地方政府有关项目为典型,对澳大利亚地方政府如何进行环保宣传教育进行分析。澳大利亚地方政府重视并积极开展环保教育,教育对象有儿童、学生、政府机构和社区以及企业各行各业的人群,内容有环保知识、技能和情报信息等,教育宣传方式、渠道及组织形式多样,并发动多方参与、广泛合作,为推进环保和可持续发展奠定了基础。     

The Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: seeking linkages for global environmental governance

ABSTRACT

Global environmental cooperation serves as an important part in the Chinese ideal of building a Community with a Shared Future for all Human Beings. The report of 19th CPC National Congress indicates that China is committed to proactive mitigation under the Paris Agreement and further participating in global environmental governance under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and both of which are largely integrated to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI are also closely linked with South–South environmental and climate cooperation proposed by China from previous UN summits. Based on shared ideas, intersected agendas, and compatible governance approaches, BRI and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development grow increasingly relevant and they might form synergies based on increasingly interactive relations. In sum, seeking and intensifying the linkages between BRI and 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs) could address global environmental governance deficits and enhance cooperation among nations.     

Use and users of municipal commonage around three small towns in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Municipal commonages surround many small towns throughout South Africa, and are an integral component of the national land reform programme. But little is known about their extent, use or value, and most appear to have limited or no management or investment. This paper reports on a survey of randomly selected households in three small towns in the Eastern Cape to ascertain the extent and purpose of use of municipal commonages. Between 27% and 70% of urban households used commonage depending on site. Key resources used were fuelwood, medicinal plants, and grazing of livestock. Typically, commonage using households were poorer and less educated than other urban residents, although the profile of users is unique for each town. Given the extensive use of commonage resources, and their contribution to the livelihoods of the poor, local municipalities need to develop and implement sound management strategies that account for all users of commonages, rather than the oft encountered focus on livestock owners and production.     

Anomalous Ba/Ca signals associated with low temperature stresses in Porites corals from Daya Bay, northern South China Sea

Barium to calcium (Ba/Ca) ratio in corals has been considered as a useful geochemical proxy for upwelling, river flood and other oceanic processes. However, recent studies indicated that additional environmental or biological factors can influence the incorporation of Ba into coral skeletons. In this study, Ba/Ca ratios of two Porites corals collected from Daya Bay, northern South China Sea were analyzed. Ba/Ca signals in the two corals were ‘anomalous’ in comparison with Ba behaviors seen in other near-shore corals influenced by upwelling or riverine runoff. Our Ba/Ca profiles displayed similar and remarkable patterns characterized by low and randomly fluctuating background signals periodically interrupted by sharp and large synchronous peaks, clearly indicating an environmental forcing. Further analysis indicated that the Ba/Ca profiles were not correlated with previously claimed environmental factors such as precipitation, coastal upwelling, anthropogenic activities or phytoplankton blooms in other areas. The maxima of Ba/Ca appeared to occur in the period of Sr/Ca maxima, coinciding with the winter minimum temperatures, which suggests that the anomalous high Ba/Ca signals were related to winter-time low sea surface temperature. We speculated that the Ba/Ca peaks in corals of the Daya Bay were most likely the results of enrichment of Ba-rich particles in their skeletons when coral polyps retracted under the stresses of anomalous winter low temperatures. In this case, Ba/Ca ratio in relatively high-latitude corals can be a potential proxy for tracing the low temperature stress.